The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Unmanned robotic devices, especially aerial ones, have been used by specialists to perform a variety of complex tasks for many years; however, performing such tasks has required significant training, sophisticated ground control computers and powerful onboard guidance navigation and control systems. Operating these systems has been beyond the abilities of many lay people.
Consumer-oriented drones, such as the AR Drone® vehicle (available from Parrot société anonyme (sa) of Paris, France) allow novice operators to fly a small unmanned aerial vehicle via a smartphone (e.g., an iPhone® (available from Apple, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.) or the like)). The onboard systems of the AR Drone vehicle may receive wireless signals from the user-provided smartphone and perform simple semi-autonomous tasks, such as taking pictures, flying a pre-programmed pattern, landing, and the like.
Other more sophisticated autonomous and semi-autonomous flying vehicles have been developed which are capable of flying precise flight patterns, identifying and potentially avoiding obstacles in a flight path, picking up and/or delivering objects, and taking off or landing at a desired location.
In some regimes, robotic devices are suited to perform basic, tedious and/or time-consuming tasks. For example, Roomba® cleaning devices (available from iRobot Corporation of Bedford, Mass.) semi-autonomously vacuum interior floors, eliminating or reducing the need for an individual to clean the floor. A problem arises when a task-performing robotic device requires the use of depletable materials, needs to replenish its power supply, and/or requires human interaction to discharge collected materials contained within the device, such as dirt that has been collected by a Roomba® cleaning device. In these instances, the robotic device must obtain new materials and/or power supplies when its current ones run out and/or release collected materials. This requires the robotic device to pause the performance of its task, travel to a site where materials and/or power sources may be obtained and/or where the robotic device waits for a human operator to perform a required task, such as removing collected materials, and then travel back to the task site to continue working. These types of processes can take considerable time (and in some cases, power) that could be better applied to the task itself.
Given the foregoing, what is needed are apparatus, systems, and methods which facilitate the ability of novice users to monitor and replenish levels of a robotic device's task-related materials and/or power supplies without having to cause the robotic device to stop performing its task and/or travel away from the task site.